How to Make a Canoe Rack for a Truck

A canoe rack is a convenient way to carry your canoe. This design swivels, which makes loading and unloading easy. This rack isn’t hard to build if you’ve got mechanical skills and a welder. If you don’t have a welder, a metal fabricator can construct the rack for you. This plan is for a truck with a topper.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 1/16-inch inside diameter receiver hitch
  • 2-inch square steel tubing
  • Welder
  • Welding rods
  • Welding mask
  • Tape measure
  • Hitch pin
  • Drill
  • Drill bit
  • 1 1/2-inch round steel tubing
  • 1 3/8-inch round steel tubing
  • 3 3/4-by-18-inch piece of 1/8-inch flat iron
  • 2-by-4 board
  • 2 pieces of 1/8-inch angle iron
  • Carpet
  • 4-by-4 board
  • Screw gun
  • Screws
  • Rope
  • Short ratchet strap
  • Long ratchet strap
  • 2 eyebolts
  • Bolts
  • Nuts
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Install a 2 1/16-inch inside diameter square receiver hitch to your truck.

    • 2

      Obtain a length of 2-inch square steel tubing. It should fit inside the receiver hitch. Measure the length of your truck topper door when opened. Make sure the canoe rack sticks out far enough and sits high enough so you can open the topper window. Leave enough length so the tubing nestles inside the hitch and so you can open your topper window. Cut to length.

    • 3

      Slide the tubing into the receiver. Insert a drill bit into the pre-drilled hole for the hitch pin in the receiver and drill through the square steel tubing. Insert the receiver pin.

    • 4

      Obtain an 18-inch piece of 1 1/2-inch round steel tubing. Stand it atop the square steel tubing and weld into place.

    • 5

      Obtain a 5-foot length of 1 3/8-inch round steel tubing and slide into the 1 1/2-inch tubing. You can adjust the height and cut to length later.

    • 6

      Lay a 3 3/4-inch-by-18-inch piece of 1/8-inch flat iron across the top of the 1 3/8-inch tubing. Weld to the round tubing perpendicular to the vehicle.

    • 7

      Set the canoe on the truck and measure the width of the canoe where it rests on the flat iron. Remove the canoe. Cut a 2-by-4 board slightly wider than the width of the canoe at the canoe rack. Wrap the 2-by-4 in carpet and screw the carpet into place.

    • 8

      Obtain two pieces of 1/8-inch angle iron. One side should measure 1 inch long, the other 3 inches long. Place the canoe on top of the flat iron and the carpeted 2-by-4. Set the pieces of angle iron (tall side up) on top of the carpeted 2-by-4 snug up to the canoe and at the same angle as the canoe’s taper. This will prevent the canoe from sliding backward when attached.

    • 9

      Bore a 3/8-inch hole through the 1-inch side of the angle iron, through the 2-by-4 and through the flat iron. Secure all three pieces with bolts and nuts.

    • 10

      Tie a short length of rope around the canoe’s seat and around the round tubing to pull the canoe back and down.

    • 11

      Make the front of the rack. Cut a 24-inch 4-by-4 piece of lumber, wrap it in carpet and screw the carpet in place. Screw heavy-duty eyebolts into both ends of the 4-by-4.

    • 12

      Position the 4-by-4 at the juncture of the cab and topper. Set the front end of the canoe on the 4-by-4. Secure the canoe to the 4-by-4 with a short ratchet strap, placing a hook in each eyebolt and tightening the ratchet.

    • 13

      Weld a piece of 2-inch square steel tubing from the frame out to the edge of the truck body on either side of the truck, where the topper meets the cab.

    • 14

      Drill a hole through the square-steel tubing near each end and install heavy-duty eyebolts and nuts. Run a long ratchet strap from one eyebolt to the canoe. Wrap once around the seat or thwart. Run the strap to the opposite eyebolt. Tighten the strap.

    • 15

      Unload the canoe by removing the rope and strap, grasping the front end of the canoe and swiveling it around perpendicular to the truck.